Chenille
Chenille is a yarn, and the fabric made from it, with a soft pile like fur. The word is French for caterpillar, whose fur the yarn is supposed to resemble. On clothing it is best known as the raised, fuzzy letters and patches of the American varsity jacket.
Definition
Chenille yarn is made by holding short lengths of yarn, the pile, between two core yarns that are twisted together, so that the pile stands out all round. The original method was to weave a leno fabric and cut it into strips to make the yarn. From the 1970s, machines made chenille yarn directly, each head producing two yarns straight onto bobbins.
Origin
Textile historians date chenille-type yarn to the 18th century and believe it began in France. In the 1830s Alexander Buchanan, a foreman in a Paisley mill, introduced chenille fabric to Scotland, weaving fuzzy shawls, and James Templeton and William Quiglay refined the process to make imitation oriental rugs. In the United States, hand-tufted bedspreads called chenille made Dalton, in north-west Georgia, the tufted bedspread capital of the country in the 1920s and 1930s. Chenille became popular for clothing with commercial production in the 1970s, and chenille fabrics are often used in letterman, or varsity, jackets.
The varsity letter
In American schools and colleges, a letterman is a student who has met a set level of participation or performance on a varsity team, and is awarded a cloth letter, usually the school's initials, to wear on a letter sweater or jacket. Chenille gave those letters their raised, soft texture. Japanese makers and designers have taken up the form, and our entry on the sutajan, the Japanese stadium jacket, explains how it was adopted in Japan.
From bedspread to jacket
The American chenille industry grew from a revived handcraft. Catherine Evans Whitener revived hand tufting in the 1890s, and by the late 1930s B. J. Bandy had made a fortune in tufted bedspreads. In the 1930s tufted fabric was wanted for throws, mats, bedspreads and carpets, but not yet for clothing; work moved from farms into factories, and adapted sewing machines inserted the tufts. Standards for industrial chenille came only in the 1990s, with the formation of the Chenille International Manufacturers Association. In our reading, this long history in the home is why chenille still reads as soft and familiar, even on a jacket meant to look tough.
Key facts
| Meaning | French for caterpillar |
|---|---|
| Origin | 18th century, probably France |
| Scotland | Paisley shawls, 1830s |
| Clothing | Popular from the 1970s |
| Best known on | Varsity jacket letters and patches |
How to identify it
- Texture. A soft, deep pile that stands up from a felt backing.
- Edges. In our handling, chenille letters are usually stitched to a felt border, which frames the pile.
- Wear. Pile flattens and sheds with age; we note thin or bald patches.
Where it appears in the collection
Examples include an Undercover autumn and winter 2001 varsity jacket with chenille patches and a Kaminari stadium jacket. Our guide to the sutajan and the varsity award jacket goes further.
Related entries
- Sukajan: the embroidered souvenir jacket
- Amekaji: the Japanese style that keeps American forms alive
Sources
- Chenille fabric, encyclopaedia entry, for the name, history, manufacture and varsity jackets. wikipedia.org
- Letterman (sports), encyclopaedia entry, for the letterman and the cloth letter. wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.